1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to methods and devices used for removing accumulated lint from clothes dryer lint filters, specifically to reusable devices and methods for their manufacture, wherein such devices comprise a mitt made of soft lint-attracting fabric and optionally having a ridge-like bound seam to aid in lint collection, in combination with a storage pouch that has easily opening upper and lower ends, each of which can be independently opened and closed for the prompt addition or removal of clothes dryer lint from the pouch. Also, the mitt is preferably attached to the pouch through a side opening in the pouch material near to its upper end, so that when the upper end is opened, a hand can be inserted into the mitt to temporarily extend the mitt beyond the upper end of the pouch for use of an optional protruding, bound, ridge-like seam on the mitt extending at a minimum over the fingers containing, as well as the soft lint-attracting mitt fabric itself, to neatly and efficiently retrieve accumulated lint from a clothes dryer lint filter with minimal lint fragment dispersal, and also to securely hold onto the removed lint during its transport to the pouch and subsequent transfer of the collected lint into the pouch with minimal mess. Without the mitt, fingernails and fingertips of the person removing the lint are typically used to separate accumulated lint from a clothes dryer lint filter, which often causes direct fingernail contact with the lint filter and fingernail damage, as well as for small fragments of the accumulated lint to be left behind on the filter, to collect under the fingernails used for lint filter cleaning, or to break away from the main body of retrieved lint and become dispersed into the room within which the dryer is located. Since accumulated lint is easily gathered into a compact mass by the protruding bound seam of the mitt, when it is used, and lint fragments are attracted to its soft fabric, the present invention helps to quickly separate the accumulated lint from a clothes dryer filter, remove more lint in less time than an uncovered hand attempting to perform the same task, and remove the lint with less damage to fingernails and chipping of fingernail polish that would otherwise occur when fingertips alone are used as the main tool for separating the accumulated lint from a clothes dryer filter. At any time after lint collection, the pouch of the present invention can be easily emptied of lint by placing the pouch over a convenient waste container, opening the pouch""s lower end, and letting gravity assist in the downward movement of lint into the waste container. Between uses, magnets are employed to attach the pouch to the outside surface of the clothes dryer housing, so that it remains conveniently accessible to those having the responsibility to remove and dispose of accumulated lint resulting from the clothes dryer operation. Also, the mitt preferably has two opposed thumbs so that it is available for immediate right-handed and left-handed use without accommodation. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use by residents, as well as professional cleaning service personnel, to facilitate the repetitive task of removing accumulated lint from clothes dryer lint filters that is necessary to promote safe use of clothes dryers in homes, school dormitories, assisted living facilities, apartment complexes, and other residence facilities. The device could also have commercial applications, such as but not limited to, use in public laundromats, other commercial cleaning establishments, and the laundries of hotels, motels, nursing homes, and hospitals, as well as the laundry facilities of companies providing uniform rentals.
2. Description of Prior Art
Routine use and laundering of woven and knit fabrics, particularly cotton fabrics in clothing and linens, creates lint. As a result of the rubbing of one part of a fabric against another during use, as well as other forms of fabric contact with various objects encountered during use, threads employed to knit and weave fabrics can become broken. Subsequently when the fabrics are machine laundered and dried, broken fiber fragments are separated from the fabric and thereafter become accumulated in the form of lint on the respective lint filters of washers and dryers. Additional surface debris clinging to the fabrics prior to laundering, such as carpet fibers and pet hair, will also become separated from the fabrics during the cleaning process and deposited on the washer or dryer lint filters as part of the accumulated lint. To allow for efficient, sanitary, and safe operation of the washers and dryers used, accumulated lint needs to be periodically removed from the respective filters. Much of the coarse lint generated during a mechanized cleaning process is removed during the washing phase, as long as the washing machine tub is not overloaded and the items in the tub can be adequately rinsed. This coarse lint is usually damp and generally poses little fire hazard threat. However, as clothes dryer lint is dry and generally comprised of smaller dimensioned particulate matter, if it is not frequently removed from clothes dryer lint filters, it will create a fire hazard risk. Further, since laundering merely sanitizes fabrics and does not remove all microbes from them, accumulated lint also will contain microbes, with more microbes being present when washers are so overloaded that clothes are not properly allowed to circulate during wash and rinse cycles. Therefore, complete and thorough removal of lint from washer and dryer lint filters, also helps to promote a more sanitary laundering result.
When fingertips alone are used, lint removal from clothes dryer lint filters is an untidy process. Fragments of lint tend to cling to the filter even after multiple attempts are made to remove it, with other fragments sticking to the hand attempting to remove it or becoming readily dispersed as a fine dust into the area immediately surrounding the dryer. Several passes of the fingertips across a clothes dryer lint filter are also usually required to remove the bulk of the accumulated lint attached to it, unless a thick mat of accumulated lint has been allowed to amass in the filter. Although a thicker mat is often more readily removed without fragmentation and lint dispersal, it is undesirable to allow lint to accumulate into a thick mat as doing so tends to pose a greater fire hazard risk. Other disadvantages of fingertip lint removal are that fragments of lint can cling to the hand employed to retrieve it and also collect under fingernails, requiring additional time to clean them. Lint removal with unprotected fingers also leads to fingernail breakage and fingernail polish chipped through direct contact of the fingernails with the lint filter. The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages by offering an alternative lint removal process that is faster, more efficient, neater, safer, and promotes a more sanitary operation, with less lint remaining attached to the filter and less fragmented lint particles being dispersed into the air in the immediate vicinity of the dryer, as well as a less damaging result for the fingernails and/or fingernail polish of the person removing the lint. No device is known that has all of the advantages of the present invention.
The primary object of this invention is to provide alternative methods for the manufacture of reusable devices that will efficiently remove and temporarily store accumulated dryer lint from clothes dryer lint filters. It is a further object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-removing devices that allow for rapid and thorough cleaning of clothes dryer lint collection filters. It is also an object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable clothes dryer lint-removal devices that are durable and easy to use. It is a further object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-removal devices that can be rapidly and easily emptied of accumulated lint. A further object of this invention is to provide methods for manufacturing reusable clothes dryer lint-removal devices that can be stored between uses in the immediate vicinity of the dryer so as to be made easily accessible to a person needing to perform the lint removal task. It is also an object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-removal devices that minimize the risk of damage to fingernails and fingernail polish during clothes dryer lint filter cleaning. It is a further object of this invention to provide methods for manufacturing reusable lint-removal devices that can be cost effectively manufactured for widespread distribution and use.
As described herein, properly manufactured and used, the present invention would enable rapid, thorough, and neat removal of lint from clothes dryer filters. Since the mitt of the present invention is attached to a lint storage pouch, dryer lint removed by the mitt can be immediately transferred to the pouch after collection, while the mitt is still near to the clothes dryer filter, thereby eliminating the need for uncovered transport of fragmented lint particles to a remote waste container that otherwise tends to result in the dispersal of at least a portion of those fragments into the area immediately surrounding a clothes dryer. Further, although not critical, the embodiment of the present invention mitt preferred for high volume use in a home or use by a group of people living in a dormitory or apartment complex, would be manufactured with a protruding bound seam that helps to roll the lint into a compact mass as the mitt is drawn across a clothes dryer filter, instead of buckling and/or fractionating portions of the accumulated lint into easily dispersed fragments, as tends to happen when exposed fingertips and fingernails are used to separate the lint from a filter. The bound seam is also helpful for filters having lint collection surfaces with a deeper basket-like configuration. For less frequent household use or with lint filters having a flatter configuration, the bound seam can be omitted, or made smaller in size, leaving the soft mitt material as the primary means of avoiding lint fragmentation during lint collection process. Also, particularly when protected by a protruding bound seam, the fingernails of the person removing the lint would not be placed at risk for damage, as they would not come in direct contact with the lint filter. In addition, any lint fragments dislodged from the clothes dryer filter while the bulk of the lint is being rolled into a compact mass, would tend to be immediately attracted to the soft material of the mitt and cling to it, minimizing the amount of lint becoming dispersed as a fine dust into the air immediately surrounding the dryer. When a clothes dryer lint filter is regularly cleaned, the present invention mitt tends to remove nearly all of the accumulated lint thereon in one pass of the mitt across the filter, multiple passes of the mitt being only anticipated for an unusually heavy deposit of lint, such as that expected during the laundering of new towels or blankets. The multiple-part magnetic closure in the upper end of the pouch of the present invention makes it easy to open, for rapid mitt extension beyond the upper perimeter of the pouch and prompt gathering of lint from clothes dryer filters. Once the mitt is placed back inside the pouch, the magnetic closure can be quickly used to seal the pouch and prevent lint dispersal while the pouch is being transported back to its storage position on the outer surface of a clothes dryer housing, where it would remain conveniently situated for subsequent uses. If the size of the magnets used for upper end closure is adequate, those magnets can also provide a means for attachment of the pouch to the dryer housing. Should smaller closure magnets be used for the upper end, or a larger and heavier pouch be desired for commercial or large resident facility use, one or more additional magnets can be connected to the back of the pouch and used for dryer housing attachment. The lint holding capacity of the pouch would be made to accommodate multiple lint filter cleanings in the contemplated application, before emptying is required, preferably containing the lint from at least eight to ten routine dryer cycles. Then, to dispose of the accumulated lint which has been transported in the pouch to a location remote from the dryer, the lint would be emptied into an appropriate waste container by simply opening the lower end of the pouch over the open upper end of the waste container and letting gravity do most of the work in causing the downward release of lint directly into the waste container. Slight shaking of the pouch might be required to release all of the collected lint, even though pouch material having a smooth inner surface would typically be used. In this way the placement of collected lint into an open container adjacent to the dryer is avoided, a practice that only allows for more of the finer lint fragments to become dispersed into the air surrounding the dryer each time a new quantity of lint or other discarded objects are added to the waste container. The lower end of the pouch can be manufactured for closure by any easily-opened closure means, to include but not be limited to buttons, buttonholes, large snaps, hook and pile types of fasteners, magnets, zippers, spring-biased two-part handbag frame closures, crocheted frogs, and any combination thereof. The pouch preferably would be made from a lightweight durable material, such as nylon, so that it, the attached mitt, and a maximum contemplated quantity of accumulated lint can easily be supported by magnetic means against the outer surface of a dryer housing. It is also preferred that the pouch be manufactured from a material to which the accumulated lint does not readily adhere. Further, although not critical, it is preferred that the pouch, the mitt, and the bottom and top pouch closures, all be manufactured from washable materials. It is considered within the scope of the present invention for the pouch to have a lining when a pouch fabric is chosen for its surface decoration instead of its functional advantages, even though for weight considerations a lining is generally not preferred. Since the present invention has few parts to assemble, and different bottom closures are contemplated to accommodate user preference and price point considerations, the present invention could be cost effectively manufactured for widespread use. Different methods of manufacture may also include different orders of assembling the various components used.
The description herein provides the preferred embodiments of the present invention but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the methods used for manufacturing different alternative embodiments of the present invention that remove accumulated lint from clothes dryer lint collection filters. For example, variations in the length and width of the lint containing pouch; the number of magnets attached to the pouch; the size, configuration, and location of the side opening in the pouch to which the mitt is attached; the type of stitching used to make a bound seam in the mitt; the length and width dimensions of the mitt; the number of thumbs made in the mitt; the means of closure used for the lower end of the pouch; and the perimeter and thickness dimensions, as well as the configuration, of the magnets used for closure of the upper end of the pouch; other than those shown and described herein may be incorporated into the present invention. Thus the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than the examples given.